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Hurt on the inside: What is emotional abuse?

What is emotional abuse?

It’s when an adult says or does things over and over again, that makes you feel bad, scared, sad or alone.

What it might look like…

Always calling you names, yelling, teasing or ignoring you. They might say things to scare you or stop you from having friends. It can happen when your parents fight or hurt each other in front of you too.

It may make you feel…

Scared, bad, embarrassed, confused or sad. You may feel unloved, unwanted or alone. No matter what you feel, Kids Helpline is always here for you.

Words can hurt

Being yelled at or called names all the time can make you feel bad about yourself.

You may start to believe what they are saying and feel that you deserve to be treated this way – BUT you don’t.

Emotional abuse is NOT ok

All kids have a right to be treated with love and care. It’s NEVER OK for someone to make you feel bad about yourself or hurt you on the inside.

It’s NOT your fault

There is nothing you can say or do that makes it OK for someone to make you feel bad about yourself or scared. Emotional abuse can happen to anyone and is always wrong.

Things you can do

Make a list of things you like about yourself and what you are good at. Remind yourself of this list when you feel down. When you can, spend time with people that make you feel good about yourself.

Find someone to talk to

Talk to somebody you trust and feel safe with about what is happening at home. It might be an older relative or friend, a Kids Helpline counsellor or a school teacher.

You are not alone – we’re here for you

If you can’t tell an adult in your life then tell a counsellor at Kids Helpline. We will listen and help you. Give us a call, send an email or start a WebChat.

Important Information for Teachers

It can be helpful to have a discussion with your class prior to the session to get them thinking about the topic (not essential).

Encourage your class to make comments and ask questions - the session is not about right and wrong, it's a discussion where everyone's thoughts are valid. It's equally okay not to speak up during the session, as long as students are listening (we emphasise this point because some sensitive issues can come up and students may need to process these silently).

If you show enthusiasm and interest in the session, from our experience, your class will too.

Although the sessions are pre-written, we make them as interactive as possible and have the capacity to be quite responsive to students' interest/needs. There is room for students to ask questions or raise issues that are off the chosen topic (the counsellor will make sure all the necessary information is covered during the session).

Students are usually quite excited to participate in these sessions and engage very well.

However, if you notice that your class is not engaging well in the session, please feel free to signal this to the counsellor and intervene to settle the class, mediate or "translate" some of the ideas into language or examples that you know your class will respond to.

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